Knock knees? Something else? Sick?

[sphinxface]

My little 1 1/2 week old brabanter Bowser (she's so stinking cute), I noticed the past couple days (I got them all on Tuesday) has been sitting on Her "knees", I also noticed she stretches more than the others. Lately she's been perching in the cold side of the brooder on a dowel and comes off every so often to eat a little, drink, then runs back to the perch in her corner.

When I first got them she seemed almost the dominate one, she's also the biggest among a cuckoo maran, welsummer, and leghorn. Are they generally a larger breed? They are supposed to all be the same age, the welsummer is by far the smallest.

I'm worried she's sick or has some sort of problem, I'm not sure if the knock knees are part of what's wrong or if that is a separate thing altogether? I have separate medication to give them for cocci but only once a week unless suspicious of illness, they also get probiotic supplement in the water every so often (once a week?). I had them on it 3 days after the move and today was the first day without it in their water, I dunno if that had something to do with it?

She's really so cute, and I lost one chick already, I don't think I could stand to loose another one... I hope she will be ok ;(

 

[realsis]

you really should NOT medicate as a prevention. it will make the bird resistant to the medication if she needs to be treated in the future.it also blocks and depletes the vitamin B in the birds body. This could be a vitamin defiency. you might want to treat her with a good poultry vitamin that has B in it and stop the cocci med unless you suspect coccidosis. This should help her out. This would be my "guess" at what might be happening. Try the vitamins or nutra drench and see if she improves. best wishes and hope this helps.

 

[sphinxface]

I haven't even given them any cocci med since I've had them, the barn does this as opposed to medicated feed? It's like a half dose I guess? I have just been giving them probiotic in their water. I gave her a couple drops into her beak just now, she went and sat back on her perch after I let her go.

 

[sphinxface]

Here is a list of what's in the stuff I gave her and have been giving them this week.

 

[sphinxface]

She really perked up a lot after those first drops I gave her, I was sneaking mealworms Through a little hole in the brooder and the other chicks were going nuts and she just sat on her perch. A little while after the water she notice (finally) that there was something going on and even had a little keep away going with the other chicks. I'm hopeful that's all it was but I think she still has a knock knee/crouching problem, and I saw the start of little sores on her "knees" and I think maybe that's why she was perching so much. It doesn't help that the bottom of the brooder is riddled with food nuggets... I swept those out and put the smallest dab of neosporin on her knees and she fell asleep off the perch.

 

[realsis]

I sure hope she feels better soon. sometimes vitamin defiency just happens. I had one In my flock while feeding a "complete" feed. just in case, you might try the vitamins to see if it helps at all. use vitamin B2. B2 or riboflavin defiency usually causes hock walking or curled toes in chicks. I think the B2 will hopefully help. my bird was to a point she couldn't walk at all but after about 4 weeks of the vitamin therapy she did recover. I really hope this helps.

 

[sphinxface]

I sure hope she feels better soon. sometimes vitamin defiency just happens. I had one In my flock while feeding a "complete" feed. just in case, you might try the vitamins to see if it helps at all. use vitamin B2. B2 or riboflavin defiency usually causes hock walking or curled toes in chicks. I think the B2 will hopefully help. my bird was to a point she couldn't walk at all but after about 4 weeks of the vitamin therapy she did recover. I really hope this helps.

is it ok to give them all more vitamins? Like maybe I should mix the powder stronger in the water they all drink?

 

[realsis]

I would see if you could just add a B2. another name for it is riboflavin.I would get a water soluble riboflavin/B2 for poultry. a good place to order poultry vitamins online is First State Vet Supply. if I remember correctly they have a poultry riboflavin. I wouldn't mix yours stronger but I would add the riboflavin. According to what I've read that's the specific vitamin who's defiency causes the curled toes and hock walking. you don't want to give the chicks a higher dose but add the riboflavin. while treating you can even take the chick off the others and focus her on the riboflavin (which is B2) for her treatment.. I really hope this helps. you can Google chicks with riboflavin defiency and see similar symptoms. keep us posted how she's doing. Do check out First State Vet. They have really great choices for poultry vitamins and I think they specifically have riboflavin.

 

[sphinxface]

There is riboflavin in the mix, I guess it's not strong enough?

 

[sphinxface]

Scrambled up some eggs for them, I figured that would be a good way to give them a bit more vitamins and such including the riboflavin. She loves them too and I think she's doing better today.